Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Second Sunday of Advent. Our Church Services this morning are at 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11.00 am at St Thomas'.
If you are unable to be with us in person, you will find resources below to worship at home.
Our first hymn this morning is "On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry"
Today's Gospel
Matthew 3:1-12 John the Baptist Prepares the Way
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’”
Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptised by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
“I baptise you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Reflection
Last week we looked at the need to be prepared and how the season of Advent is a time for reflection, prayer and penitence. A time when we need to prepare for the second coming of Christ by emulating him and leading righteous lives.
In this week’s gospel passage Matthew describes the way in which John the Baptist was telling people how to prepare for Jesus’ ministry and the first coming of the Messiah. How to make straight the path for the Lord through repentance.
A good starting point is to think about what we mean by repentance. It is clearly much more than saying I am sorry in a perfunctory way, with no real commitment or genuine remorse.
Repentance is about taking a good hard look at ourselves and examining where we have fallen short in our actions and thoughts and how we treat one another. It requires us to be honest with ourselves and accept the reality of where we have gone off course. It requires us to acknowledge the truth that we are all sinners in one way or another and confess what we have done wrong and the need to make things right.
Repentance is about being genuine with ourselves and not trying to make excuses for our behaviour or blame someone else – it is about accepting responsibility, declaring I am not fine, I am a sinner and in need of cleansing and forgiveness. It also has to be matched with a genuine commitment to change – and do things better and differently in the future. If we do not accept the need to reform, then we are not really sorry. We are not making the path straight for coming of the Messiah.
That is why John the Baptist reacted so negatively to the Pharisees and Sadducees who were coming to be baptised in the wilderness. He could see through the façade of their intentions. They were religious leaders and pious hypocrites who had heard about this religious teaching of John’s and the need to be cleansed by baptism. They doubtless thought it would look good for them to come along and take part in front of the crowds.
But John has no truck with them and calls them out – he names them as a brood of vipers. It was as much an insult then as it is to call someone a snake in today’s world. It signified their deceptiveness, like the serpent in the Garden of Eden which led to the fall of man. His point being that you need to do more than be seen to be good, you need to be good at heart as well.
We can demonstrate our genuine desire to make straight the path for the Lord in the way we change our ways and behave better. John refers to this as bearing fruit. Here is the really positive thing – when we confess our sins and show a desire to change it is not a shameful thing. It is a way of healing and receiving forgiveness. God wants us to repent and he wants us to be part of his kingdom. God doesn’t want us to live with a cloud of shame hanging over us and darkness in our hearts.
Jesus shows us time and time again when he consorted with sinners how we can change our lives and be saved. Jesus loves us so much that he died on the cross to save and redeem us all.
Repentance is how we each prepare for Jesus’ arrival. To repent is a way of acknowledging that our way is not working and that we are ready to accept the way of God as Jesus showed us. It prepares us to receive God’s divine healing and forgiveness.
Paul
Our Prayers
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the message of John the Baptist
and his call to repentance.
Help us to prepare our hearts and lives for the coming of Jesus.
Transform us from the inside out,
and may Your Spirit help us to bear fruit
in keeping with genuine repentance.
Guide us to live authentically and faithfully for Your glory.
Amen
Today's final hymn is "Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending"
Notices
This afternoon we have our Parish Christingle Service at 3 pm at St Thomas' Church. Everyone is invited to join us.
